80k After Hours

Matt Reardon, Arden Koehler, and Huon Porteous sit down with Dwarkesh Patel to find out how you become a world-famous (among tech intellectuals) podcast host at 23. We also discuss how 80k would have advised 21-year-old Dwarkesh and 80k strategy more broadly.

You can check out the video version of this episode on YouTube at https://youtu.be/H5px6CQTe8o

Topics covered:
  • How did Dwarkesh start landing world-class guests?
  • Why is Bryan Caplan such an easy get?
  • How does Dwarkesh think about ideological labels?
  • Dwarkesh explains his pivot towards AI
  • Do intellectuals matter for progress?
  • Was Microsoft or the Gates Foundation more impactful?
  • Do biographies ever matter more than their subjects?
  • How would 80k have advised young Dwarkesh?
  • What does motivate people in government and what should motivate people in government?
  • Should do-gooders seek power?
  • Should 80k advice always aim at the tails?
  • Are people just layering their simple political memes onto the AI debate?
  • How do you boost people’s agency?
  • How do we feel about self-perceived entrepreneurs?
  • What’s the tradeoff between having the right initiative and having the right ideas?
  • How does 80k’s advice deal with AI timelines?  
  • Are 80k users self-selected for not being the highest potential people?
  • Should you assume that everyone can make it to the extreme tail?
  • In how many areas should 80k have detailed advice?
  • What happened to the EA brand?

What is 80k After Hours?

Resources on how to do good with your career — and anything else we here at 80,000 Hours feel like releasing.